ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iranian border guards fatally shot a 15-year-old Kurdish boy and seriously wounded his father after opening fire on their vehicle in Iran's Kurdistan province, an Oslo-based human rights watchdog said on Thursday.

“A 15-year-old Kurdish boy named Sam Hasani was killed by direct fire from the Islamic Republic of Iran's armed forces, and his father Ahsan Hasani was seriously wounded,” reported the Hengaw Human Rights Organization.

According to the rights group, border guards stationed in the village of Daraki in Sarvabad county, Kurdistan province, “opened fire on a family vehicle from that village without any prior warning” as the family was returning home after spending the day working in their cherry orchard.

Hengaw said Sam Hasani was struck in the upper body and died instantly, while his father sustained a serious leg injury and is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Marivan.

Hengaw and other Kurdish human rights organizations have repeatedly accused Iranian border guards of using excessive and often lethal force against civilians in Iran's Kurdish border areas. Victims frequently include farmers, villagers, and cross-border couriers, known as kolbars, who transport goods across the mountainous frontier to earn a living.

Iranian authorities have long defended such shootings as part of border security operations and efforts to combat smuggling. Rights groups, however, say many victims are unarmed civilians who are shot without prior warning.

Meanwhile, Iran has stepped up arrests and executions in its Kurdish regions following the recent war with the United States, amid concerns by Iranian authorities over reported attempts by Kurdish Iranian opposition groups based in the Kurdistan Region to infiltrate the country during the conflict, allegations the groups have denied.